Cancelling an appointment
Last updated
When a booking is off, cancel it properly rather than deleting or ignoring it. The record stays honest and the freed time can be put back to work.
How to cancel
- Click the appointment on the Calendar to open its drawer.
- Scroll to the Cancel appointment section at the bottom.
- Optionally type a reason, for example patient unwell.
- Press Cancel appointment.
- The button changes to Confirm cancellation: [treatment or appointment name], with a note that no fee is taken. Press it to cancel, or press Keep appointment to back out.
If the appointment is part of a multi-treatment visit, the button reads Cancel this treatment only, and a separate Cancel whole visit section sits below it.
What happens to the booking reservation fee
Cancelling never charges the patient anything. If they paid a booking reservation fee, it stays with you unless you refund it from your Stripe dashboard. When a patient cancels themselves with enough notice and you have enabled your fee-return policy, the clinic cancellation email tells you when a paid amount is due back; see Booking reservation fees, payments and refunds.
What happens to the slot
If waitlist auto-fill is on, the freed time is offered to matching waitlist patients automatically, each with a first-come-first-served claim link. Offers still depend on the waitlist automation, matching entries, notice and any cancellation buffer you have set. A time still occupied by another confirmed or pending appointment is not offered.
A treatment awaiting its shared multi-treatment payment cannot be cancelled on its own while other active treatments remain. Use Cancel whole visit instead. Pending form requests for cancelled appointments are voided and open payment checkouts are closed. If the appointment or visit changes while you are confirming, refresh the diary and check it again.
Where cancelled appointments go
Cancelled appointments disappear from the diary by default so the working view stays clean. To see them, press View at the top of the calendar and turn on Show cancelled. They show as dashed, struck-through appointments. Opening one shows the cancellation reason you recorded, which is handy when a patient later asks what happened.